Mobile Clinic Helping Control Pet Population

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There are some stray cats, who hail from Long Island, that folks enjoy. That’s the 1980’s band The Stray Cats. But, there’s one Connecticut business doing its best to avoid a stray cat strut through our state.

Affordability and accessibility were the two driving forces behind the TEAM Mobile Feline Unit, a clinic on wheels whose veterinarians have performed over 170,000 spays or neuters of cats over 17 years.

Dr. Art Heller, a 25 year veterinarian, who’s been aboard the bus for over 12 years, says, “80 to 90 percent of those (spays/neuters) are domestic. So, if you extrapolate from the domestic cats that we’ve seen to the number of stray cats that are out there. It’s quite a large number.”

It’s believed there are at least an equal number of strays as domestics in Connecticut.

Toni Gotlibowski, of New Britain, who was among those waiting to have a cat spayed, just added a third cat to her collection. She named her feral feline Midnight, because of her black color.

“I found her at work, in the parking garage,” she said. “I rescued her. I’ve had her about three weeks now.”

Prices vary at veterinary clinics, but this mobile clinic’s fee of $80 for a spay or neuter is considerably less.

“A neuter of a male cat could cost around $200 to $300,” said Donna Sicuranza, Executive Director of TEAM, which is an acronym for Tait’s Every Animal Matters. “A female cat spay costs at least $200-$300 and in some parts of the state we’ve heard quotes of $500 or more.”

If you’re interested in learning more information about the TEAM Mobile Feline Unit, call 1-888-FOR-TEAM or visit them on the web at www.everyanimalmatters.org.